The body is called Soma in Greek and as we know, the New Testament was written originally in Greek. Soma means physical body, distinct from the soul, mind, or psyche. The Gnostics considered the Soma evil and tried to eradicate it, suppress it and we know of religions where they mutilate the body and subjugate it to torture.
In today’s Christianity, a form of Gnosticism is creeping in with certain groups, where we may punish our flesh in different ways. We think we are unspiritual if we pay attention to our bodies so we sweep away any offending things of the body under the carpet, ignoring it. While we do not glorify the flesh and the flesh has to die in the spiritual realm, we are not to punish our bodies. Often the self-cutting behaviours comes from the spirit of Gnosticism.
In the Bible, there is a beautiful balance between the spirit, soul and body where the spirit rules over the soul and body and they coordinate in harmony in this holy order. It is important that our bodies are whole, restored, healed in order to have a wonderful communion with Christ. Many times when we are weak rundown and sick, we can barely utter a prayer. God pours out graces for such situations but it is not His will that our body keep languishing and it should be our desire to pray for healing and restoration.
Our body needs to be sound and restored as are our spirit and soul. The body, our outer shell needs strength and while we nourish our inner life, we should likewise nourish our outer shell. It is given by God, or otherwise, He would have created us as walking souls walking around in shadowy misty forms with no features or beings of light floating around! No need for a body, right?
When Jesus came on Earth, He came in the flesh, it was important for Him to connect with us and His flesh had to die on the Cross in place of us, for our sinful DNA. God did not create humans evil but by personal choices because of free will, the first man and woman disobeyed God. As we know, the Word became flesh: the Son of God took upon Himself a body of flesh and blood: and though He died He wears this garb forever. People who see visions of Christ always most often see His nail-pierced hands!
Christ now makes our body His abode, through the Holy Spirit. Every believer of Christ even weak or immature has Christ dwelling in them. When we die, our outer body shell will disintegrate turning to dust and our spirit soul goes to God in Heaven, we are alive in Heaven in our soul forms. Yet God considered our outer body important because in the final resurrection, we will get glorious new bodies, “the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8.23) which is a grand event in the future. Today’s body is just an “earthen vessel,” an “earthly tent,” a “lowly body” (2 Cor. 4.7, 5.1; Phil. 3.21). Sin is not yet expunged from our bodies, and therefore we die daily to our flesh, meaning we give our cravings, wants, demands no importance but by faith look to Christ and commune with the Holy Spirit. We claim resurrection life daily, a three-fold aspect today, which is life to our bodies, souls and spirits abounding in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our body is needed to accomplish many things in the spiritual realm. We use our vocal cords to pray, sing, worship, and speak and declare the Gospel, we use our fingers to write, type, we use our feet to meet others in Christ, the feet of the Gospel bears wonderful good news for dying souls. So once we honour our bodies, we nourish it, we do not neglect it, we keep up personal hygiene, we nourish it with the right food, vitamins, and if we are not healed supernaturally, we do go to a doctor and there is no condemnation from God there. Many times, He uses doctors too. Luke was a physician, a doctor, and he was a disciple of Christ. Jesus took sickness very seriously and healed the body as He also brought Salvation to souls. Both worked simultaneously in wonderful oneness and wholeness. The body is subjugation to the spirit will always bring us breakthrough.
If our flesh, however rules our body, we will give into lust, greed, anger, fornication (sexual intercourse between people not married to each other, forbidden by God, in the Bible as it opens our doors also to different spirits entering our lives).
Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
First Corinthians 9:27 “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
First Corinthians 6:18 “Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.”
Rita F. Kurian
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